Context and environment aware volume control in telephonic conversation

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for automatically adjusting telephonic conversation volume are provided. A computer-implemented method includes: detecting a telephone being used for a conversation and receiving data from at least one of a microphone, a camera, and a location system associated with the telephone. The method includes analyzing the data to determine at least one of: usage of sensitive or confidential words in the conversation; distance of the telephone to another person; level of annoyance of another person; conversation loudness relative to ambient loudness; location of the telephone relative to quiet areas. The method includes automatically adjusting a volume of a speaker of the telephone during the conversation based on the analyzing.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to telephone devices and, moreparticularly, to automatic volume control in telephone devices.

Telephone usage has become nearly ubiquitous in modern life. A problemwith telephone usage in crowded spaces is that often a telephoneconversation by one person can be heard by other people in the vicinity.People often set the volume to a high level on their telephone devicewith the result that other people in the vicinity of the telephone canhear one or both sides of the conversation. This can be annoying to thepeople that are subjected to someone else's conversation. It can also beembarrassing and/or damaging to the person conducting the conversation,for example, when sensitive or confidential subject matter isunintentionally revealed to other people in the vicinity.

SUMMARY

In an aspect of the invention, a computer implemented method includesdetecting a telephone being used for a conversation and receiving datafrom at least one of a microphone, a camera, and a location systemassociated with the telephone. The method includes analyzing the data todetermine at least one of: usage of sensitive or confidential words inthe conversation; distance of the telephone to another person; level ofannoyance of another person; conversation loudness relative to ambientloudness; location of the telephone relative to quiet areas. The methodincludes automatically adjusting a volume of a speaker of the telephoneduring the conversation based on the analyzing.

In another aspect of the invention, there is a system for automaticallyadjusting telephonic conversation volume. The system includes: atelephone comprising a processor running a volume control module; atleast one microphone configured to provide microphone data to the volumecontrol module; at least one camera configured to provide camera data tothe volume control module; and a location system configured to providelocation data to the volume control module. The volume control module isconfigured to automatically reduce a volume of a speaker of thetelephone during a conversation based on analyzing at least one of themicrophone data, the camera data, and the location data.

In another aspect of the invention, there is a computer program productfor automatically adjusting telephonic conversation volume. The computerprogram product includes a computer readable storage medium havingprogram instructions embodied therewith. The program instructions areexecutable by a computing device to cause the computing device to:detect a telephone being used for a conversation; obtain microphonedata, camera data, and location data associated with the telephone;determine, using the microphone data, whether sensitive or confidentialwords are used in the conversation using natural language processing;determine, using the microphone data, whether conversation loudnessexceeds ambient loudness by a predefined amount; determine, using thecamera data, whether another person is within a predefined distance ofthe telephone; determine, using the camera data, a level of annoyance ofanother person; determine, using the location data, whether a locationof the telephone coincides with a predefined quiet area; andautomatically adjust a volume of a speaker of the telephone based on atleast one of the microphone data, the camera data, and the locationdata.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is described in the detailed description whichfollows, in reference to the noted plurality of drawings by way ofnon-limiting examples of exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1 depicts a computing infrastructure according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary environment in accordance with aspects of theinvention.

FIGS. 3A-3D show exemplary implementations in accordance with aspects ofthe invention.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of a method in accordance with aspects of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates generally to telephone devices and, moreparticularly, to automatic volume control in telephone devices.According to aspects of the invention, speaker volume on a device suchas a phone is automatically adjusted based on a number of factors suchas location, ambient sound levels, proximity to other people, detectedlevel of annoyance of other people, and detected sensitive and/orconfidential subject matter in the conversation. The factors may bedetermined based on data collected from sensors including at least oneof: an audio capturing device (e.g., a microphone) that detects loudnessof the telephone conversation; at least one camera that detects a personin the vicinity of the telephone; and a location system that determinesa location of the telephone. The telephone may analyze data from thesensors using at least one of rules, image processing, and naturallanguage processing to automatically reduce the audio volume of thetelephone speaker.

Implementations of the invention provide a system and method toautomatically understood the surroundings of a telephonic conversationand warn and user or automatically adjust a loudness level of theconversation. In embodiments, the automatic check of the surroundingarea checks for location information such as whether this is a quietplace (e.g., library, school, business). In embodiments, the automaticcheck of the surrounding area checks for body language of others todetermine whether others are being bothered. In embodiments, theautomatic check of the surrounding area checks the level of surroundingambient sound in order to determine if the conversational volume of thecall is appropriate.

In an aspect of the invention, the volume of a telephone loudspeaker(e.g., speaker) is automatically controlled based on the conversationsubject matter and whether it is determined to be sensitive orconfidential. In embodiments, Natural Language Processing (NLP) is usedto determine when the subject matter being discussed in a telephone callis sensitive or confidential, in which case the telephone being used inthe conversation automatically reduces its speaker volume.

In another aspect of the invention, the volume of a telephone speaker isautomatically controlled based on a determined distance of the telephoneto another person. In embodiments, when a telephone is being used in aconversation, data collected by a camera associated with the telephonemay be used to determine when another person is within a predefineddistance relative to the telephone, in which case the telephoneautomatically reduces its speaker volume. For example, image processingmay be used to determine when a person is within the field of view ofthe camera associated with the telephone. Image processing may also beused to determine a distance from the camera to an object (e.g., theperson) within the field of view of the camera. In this manner, a cameraand image processing programs may be used to determine when anotherperson is within a certain distance of the telephone, and the speakervolume of the telephone may be automatically adjusted based on thisdetermination.

In another aspect of the invention, the volume of a telephone speaker isautomatically controlled based on a determined level of annoyance ofanother person in the vicinity of the telephone. In embodiments, when atelephone is being used in a conversation, data collected by a cameraassociated with the telephone may be used to determine when a personwithin the vicinity of the telephone has reached a level of annoyance,in which case the telephone automatically reduces its speaker volume.The level of annoyance may be determined from body language such asfacial expressions. For example, facial recognition programming may beused with the camera data to determine when a person within the field ofview of the camera has reached a level of annoyance, e.g., bydetermining that their detected mood has changed from a first mood(e.g., happy, indifferent, etc.) to a second mood (e.g., anger,contempt, etc.).

In another aspect of the invention, the volume of a telephone speaker isautomatically controlled based on a determined location of thetelephone. The location of the telephone being used in a conversationmay be determined using a location system such as a Global PositioningSystem (GPS). In embodiments, the determined location of the telephoneis compared to pre-defined quiet areas, such as libraries, office areas,etc. In the event the location of the telephone is determined to bewithin a pre-defined quiet area, the telephone being used in theconversation automatically reduces its speaker volume.

In another aspect of the invention, the volume of a telephone speaker isautomatically controlled based on a determined loudness relative toambient sound levels. In embodiments, at least one microphone detects aloudness of the speaker of the telephone being used in a conversationand an ambient loudness of the surroundings. When the loudness of thetelephone speaker exceeds the ambient loudness by a predefined amount(e.g., percentage or raw decibels), the telephone being used in theconversation automatically reduces its speaker volume.

Systems in accordance with aspects of the invention may be adapted topermit a user to configure features described herein. In embodiments,the system permits a user to selectively activate and deactivateautomatic volume reduction for each of factors independent of the otherfactors. For example, a user may configure their telephone to activateautomatic volume reduction as described herein for detectedsensitive/confidential material and detected level of annoyance, but notto activate automatic volume for determined distance, determinedlocation of the telephone, and determined loudness relative to ambientsound levels.

Another configurable feature may involve the telephone providing analert to the user. For example, the user may be permitted to select oneof the following modes of operation: the telephone provides an alert tothe user without automatically reducing volume; the telephone providesan alert to the user and then automatically reduces volume a number ofseconds after the alert; the telephone automatically reduces volumewithout providing an alert to the user.

Another configurable feature may involve the speed at which thetelephone automatically reduces the volume. For example, the user may bepermitted to select a period of time over which the volume reductiontakes place, e.g., from zero seconds (an instantaneous reduction) to anon-zero number of seconds (a slower, fading reduction).

Aspects of the invention may be implemented with either: a landlinetelephone that is connected by a pair of wires to a telephone network;or a mobile phone, such as a cellular phone, that is portable andcommunicates with the telephone network by radio transmissions.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowcharts and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowcharts may represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions,which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing thespecified logical function(s). In some alternative implementations, thefunctions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in thefigures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, beexecuted substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes beexecuted in the reverse order, depending upon the functionalityinvolved. It will also be noted that each block of the flowchartillustrations, and combinations of blocks in the flowchartillustrations, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts or carry outcombinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a schematic of an example of a computinginfrastructure is shown. Computing infrastructure 10 is only one exampleof a suitable computing infrastructure and is not intended to suggestany limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of embodiments ofthe invention described herein. Regardless, computing infrastructure 10is capable of being implemented and/or performing any of thefunctionality set forth hereinabove.

In computing infrastructure 10 there is a computer system (or server)12, which is operational with numerous other general purpose or specialpurpose computing system environments or configurations. Examples ofwell-known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations thatmay be suitable for use with computer system 12 include, but are notlimited to, personal computer systems, server computer systems, thinclients, thick clients, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessorsystems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmableconsumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputer systems, mainframecomputer systems, and distributed cloud computing environments thatinclude any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

Computer system 12 may be described in the general context of computersystem executable instructions, such as program modules, being executedby a computer system. Generally, program modules may include routines,programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and so on thatperform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.Computer system 12 may be practiced in distributed cloud computingenvironments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices thatare linked through a communications network. In a distributed cloudcomputing environment, program modules may be located in both local andremote computer system storage media including memory storage devices.

As shown in FIG. 1, computer system 12 in computing infrastructure 10 isshown in the form of a general-purpose computing device. The componentsof computer system 12 may include, but are not limited to, one or moreprocessors or processing units (e.g., CPU) 16, a system memory 28, and abus 18 that couples various system components including system memory 28to processor 16.

Bus 18 represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures,including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, anaccelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus using any of avariety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation,such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus,Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, VideoElectronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and PeripheralComponent Interconnects (PCI) bus.

Computer system 12 typically includes a variety of computer systemreadable media. Such media may be any available media that is accessibleby computer system 12, and it includes both volatile and non-volatilemedia, removable and non-removable media.

System memory 28 can include computer system readable media in the formof volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) 30 and/or cachememory 32. Computer system 12 may further include otherremovable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer system storagemedia. By way of example only, storage system 34 can be provided forreading from and writing to a nonremovable, non-volatile magnetic media(not shown and typically called a “hard drive”). Although not shown, amagnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable,non-volatile magnetic disk (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical diskdrive for reading from or writing to a removable, non-volatile opticaldisk such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other optical media can be provided.In such instances, each can be connected to bus 18 by one or more datamedia interfaces. As will be further depicted and described below,memory 28 may include at least one program product having a set (e.g.,at least one) of program modules that are configured to carry out thefunctions of embodiments of the invention.

Program/utility 40, having a set (at least one) of program modules 42,may be stored in memory 28 by way of example, and not limitation, aswell as an operating system, one or more application programs, otherprogram modules, and program data. Each of the operating system, one ormore application programs, other program modules, and program data orsome combination thereof, may include an implementation of a networkingenvironment. Program modules 42 generally carry out the functions and/ormethodologies of embodiments of the invention as described herein.

Computer system 12 may also communicate with one or more externaldevices 14 such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a display 24, etc.;one or more devices that enable a user to interact with computer system12; and/or any devices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.) that enablecomputer system 12 to communicate with one or more other computingdevices. Such communication can occur via Input/Output (I/O) interfaces22. Still yet, computer system 12 can communicate with one or morenetworks such as a local area network (LAN), a general wide area network(WAN), and/or a public network (e.g., the Internet) via network adapter20. As depicted, network adapter 20 communicates with the othercomponents of computer system 12 via bus 18. It should be understoodthat although not shown, other hardware and/or software components couldbe used in conjunction with computer system 12. Examples, include, butare not limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processingunits, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and dataarchival storage systems, etc.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of an exemplary system in accordance withaspects of the invention. In embodiments, the system includes atelephone device (e.g., telephone) 100, a primary microphone 102, anadditional microphone 104, a speaker 106, and a camera 108. Thetelephone 100 may be a computing device and may be implemented using thecomputer system 12 of FIG. 1 or another suitable computing device. Forexample, the telephone 100 may comprise a processing unit 16, a memory28, and a display 24. The memory 28 may store applications and/orprogram modules including a volume control module 110 that is executedby the processing unit 16 to perform one or more of the processesdescribed herein.

The additional microphone 104 and camera 108 may be integrated with thetelephone, or may be separate from the telephone 100 and transmitelectrical signals to the telephone 100 via wired or wirelesscommunication. There may be any desired number of additional microphones104, including one or more than one (i.e., plural). There may be anydesired number of cameras 108, including one or more than one (i.e.,plural). In embodiments, the additional microphone 104 and the camera108 are micro devices. For example, the additional microphone 104 may bea micro audio device.

The primary microphone 102 and the speaker 106 may be configured toreceive and output audio (e.g., acoustic signals) of a telephoneconversation in a conventional manner. For example, the primarymicrophone 102 may comprise an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensorthat converts sound into an electrical signal, and the speaker 106 maycomprise a transducer that turns an electrical signal into sound waves.In this manner, the telephone 100 may be used to conduct a telephoneconversation by receiving acoustic signals at the primary microphone102, converting the acoustic signals to electrical signals, transmittingthe electrical signals to another telephone (e.g., via a telephonenetwork), receiving other electrical signals from the other telephone,converting and outputting the other electrical signals as other acousticsignals at the speaker 106. A level of electrical power driving thespeaker 106 may be selectively adjusted to increase or decrease thevolume of the speaker 106.

According to aspects of the invention, when the telephone 100 is beingused to conduct a telephone conversation, the volume control module 110is configured to receive data from the additional microphone 104 and thecamera 108 and automatically adjust the volume of the speaker 106 basedon this data. The volume control module 110 may comprise a programmodule 42 as described with respect to FIG. 1. The volume control module110 may be programmed to provide functionality including: imageprocessing to detect a person in a camera image; image processing todetermine a distance to an object in a camera image; image processing todetermine a mood of a person based on body language of the person in acamera image; and natural language processing (NLP) to detect sensitiveand/or confidential subject matter in a conversation. Based on datareceived from the additional microphone 104 and the camera 108, and byusing the programmed functionality, the volume control module 110 maydetermine situations where the volume of the speaker 106 of thetelephone 100 is automatically reduced.

In an aspect of the invention, when the telephone 100 is being used toconduct a telephone conversation, the volume control module 110 receivesan electrical signal from the additional microphone 104 and analyzes thesignal using NLP to determine when the subject matter being discussed ina telephone call is sensitive or confidential. NLP is a technique forbreaking sentences down into something understood by a system. Deepparsing breaks a sentence down into noun phrases and verb phrases andthen figures the prepositional phrase. The sentence is further brokendown by part. NLP is used for enabling computers to derive meaning fromnatural language input stemming from any number of sources. An exemplarytechnique is a classification technique in which a machine reads andbreaks down sentences to classify them or understand their meaning andeven sentiment.

Lemmatization is another technique that can be applied. Lemmatization isthe process of grouping together different inflected forms of a word inorder that it can be analyzed as a single item. For example, “walking”,“walks”, “walked” all have a lemma of “walk”. This will allow a betterchance of accuracy in subject classification.

Ontology driven techniques (a model for describing the world thatconsists of a set of types properties and relationship types) could alsobe used for deep parse understanding. A triple is the functionaldecomposition of any sentence. The triple is composed of a subject,predicate, and object. The predicate is the main verb of the sentence,and the object is the direct object of that verb (the action recipient).The subject is verb agent, i.e., the one who carries out the action. Bydecomposing language into triples, one can better understand howentities relate to each other and navigate through unstructured text(via a triple store).

In embodiments, when the volume control module 110 determines (usingNLP) that the subject matter being discussed in a telephone call issensitive or confidential, the volume control module 110 causes thetelephone 100 to reduce the volume of the speaker 106. For example, thevolume control module 110 may provide a signal to the processing unit16, which signal causes the processing unit to adjust (e.g., reduce) theelectrical power provided to the speaker 106 for the purpose of loweringthe volume of the speaker 106.

In an aspect of the invention, when the telephone 100 is being used toconduct a telephone conversation, the volume control module 110 receivesan image from the camera 108 and analyzes the image to determine whetherto automatically reduce the volume of the speaker 106. In embodiments,images collected by the camera 108 may be used to determine when anotherperson is within a predefined distance relative to the telephone 100.For example, the volume control module 110 may use image processing todetermine when a person is within the field of view of the camera 108,and to determine a distance from the telephone 100 to the person withinthe field of view of the camera 108. The telephone 100 may store datadefining a threshold distance, and the volume control module 110 maycompare the threshold distance to the determined distance to the personin the field of view of the camera 108. In embodiments, when thedetermined distance to the person in the field of view of the camera 108is less than the threshold distance (e.g., indicating that the person issufficiently close to the telephone 100), the volume control module 110causes the telephone 100 to reduce the volume of the speaker 106.

In another aspect of the invention, when the telephone 100 is being usedto conduct a telephone conversation, the volume control module 110receives a series of images from the camera 108 and analyzes the imagesto determine whether to automatically reduce the volume of the speaker106. In embodiments, images collected by the camera 108 may be used todetermine a level of annoyance of another person in the vicinity of thetelephone 100. The level of annoyance may be determined from bodylanguage such as facial expressions. For example, the volume controlmodule 110 may use image processing techniques, in particular facialrecognition programming, to determine when a person within the field ofview of the camera 108 has reached a level of annoyance, e.g., byanalyzing images from the camera 108 to determine that the person'sdetected mood has changed from a first mood (e.g., happy, indifferent,etc.) to a second mood (e.g., anger, contempt, etc.). In embodiments,when the volume control module 110 determines that a person's level ofannoyance has changed in this manner, the volume control module 110causes the telephone 100 to reduce the volume of the speaker 106.

In an aspect of the invention, when the telephone 100 is being used toconduct a telephone conversation, the volume control module 110 receivesan electrical signal from the additional microphone 104 and analyzes aloudness of the speaker 106 relative to an ambient noise level. Inembodiments, the additional microphone 104 detects a loudness of thespeaker of the telephone 100 and separately detects an ambient loudnessof the surroundings (e.g., other noise in the area around the telephone100). In embodiments, the volume control module 110 compares thedetected loudness of the speaker 106 to the detected ambient loudness.The telephone 100 may store data defining a threshold value, e.g., as apercentage or an absolute value. In embodiments, when the detectedloudness of the speaker 106 exceeds the detected ambient loudness bymore than the threshold value, the volume control module 110 causes thetelephone 100 to reduce the volume of the speaker 106.

Still referring to FIG. 2, the telephone 100 may also include a locationsystem 120 that determines a location of the telephone. For example, thelocation system 120 may be part of a GPS. In an aspect of the invention,when the telephone 100 is being used to conduct a telephoneconversation, the volume control module 110 receives data from thelocation system 120 and analyzes the data to determine whether toautomatically reduce the volume of the speaker 106. In embodiments, thetelephone 100 stores or has access to a list of predefined quiets areas,which may correspond to, for example, libraries, office spaces, etc. Thelist of predefined quiet areas may include locations (e.g., coordinates)of each quiet area. The volume control module 110 may comparecoordinates of the telephone 100 provided by the location system 120 tocoordinates of the predefined quiets areas to determine whether thetelephone 100 is located within a predefined quiet area. In embodiments,when the telephone is within a predefined quiet area, the volume controlmodule 110 causes the telephone 100 to reduce the volume of the speaker106.

The telephone 100 in accordance with aspects of the invention may beadapted to permit a user to configure aspects of the automatic volumecontrol described herein. In embodiments, the volume control module 110permits a user to selectively activate and deactivate automatic volumereduction for each of factors (e.g., sensitive/confidential material,distance to another person, level of annoyance of another person,loudness relative to ambient sound levels, and telephone locationrelative to quiet areas) independent of the other factors. For example,the volume control module 110 may cause the display 24 to display a userinterface (UI) by which a user of the telephone 100 may provide input toconfigure the volume control module 110.

In additional embodiments, the volume control module 110 is adapted topermit the user to configure (e.g., via the UI) features such as:whether or not to provide an alert to the user when it is determined toreduce to the speaker volume; and the speed at which the telephoneautomatically reduces the volume. For example, the user may be permittedto select one of the following modes of operation: the telephoneprovides an alert to the user without automatically reducing volume; thetelephone provides an alert to the user and then automatically reducesvolume a number of seconds after the alert; the telephone automaticallyreduces volume without providing an alert to the user. In anotherexample, the user may be permitted to select a period of time over whichthe volume reduction takes place, e.g., from zero seconds (aninstantaneous reduction) to a non-zero number of seconds (a slower,fading reduction).

FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D show exemplary embodiments in accordance withaspects of the invention. FIG. 3A shows a system in which the telephone100′ comprises a mobile phone 210, and in which the primary microphone102, the additional microphone 104, the speaker 106, and the camera 108are integrated with the mobile phone 210. The mobile phone 210 may be asmartphone comprising a processing unit, a memory, and a display 24. Thememory may store mobile applications and/or program modules includingthe volume control module 110 that is executed by the processing unit.The display 24 may comprise a capacitive touch screen display thatoutputs an electronic visual display and that receives user input viastylus and/or finger touch. The mobile phone 210 may also include atleast one antenna configured for wireless communication via at least oneof cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth, and near field communication (NFC). Themobile phone 210 may also include a rechargeable battery and sensorssuch as an accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, and GPS.

FIG. 3B shows a system in which the telephone 100″ comprises a mobilephone 220, and in which the additional microphone 104, the speaker 106,and the camera 108 are separate from the mobile phone 210. The mobilephone 220 may be a smartphone comprising a processing unit, a memory,and a display 24. The memory may store mobile applications and/orprogram modules including the volume control module 110 that is executedby the processing unit. The display 24 may comprise a capacitive touchscreen display that outputs an electronic visual display and thatreceives user input via stylus and/or finger touch. The mobile phone 220may also include at least one antenna configured for wirelesscommunication via at least one of cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth, and nearfield communication (NFC). The mobile phone 220 may also include arechargeable battery and sensors such as an accelerometer, gyroscope,compass, and GPS. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3B, the additionalmicrophone 104, the speaker 106, and the camera 108 are integrated in aheadset or earphones 222 worn by the person using the mobile phone 220.The headset or earphones 222 may communicate with the mobile phone 220by wired or wireless communication.

FIG. 3C shows a system in which the telephone 100′″ comprises a landlinetelephone 230, and in which the primary microphone 102, the additionalmicrophone 104, the speaker 106, and the camera 108 are integrated withthe landline telephone 230. The landline telephone 230 may comprise ahandset 231, a display 24, and buttons 232. Additionally, the landlinetelephone 230 may comprise the processing unit and memory that storesthe volume control module 110.

FIG. 3D shows a system in which the telephone 100″″ comprises a landlinetelephone 240, and in which the additional microphone 104 and the camera108 are separate from the landline telephone 240. The landline telephone240 may comprise a handset 231, a display 24, and buttons 232.Additionally, the landline telephone 240 may comprise the processingunit and memory that stores the volume control module 110. Theadditional microphone 104 may comprise plural additional microphones 104arranged at locations around the landline telephone 240, e.g., atlocations in an office space. The camera 108 may comprise plural cameras108 arranged at locations around the landline telephone 240, e.g., atlocations in an office space.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of a method in accordance with aspects of theinvention. Steps of the method of FIG. 4 may be performed in theenvironment illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3A-D, and are described withreference to elements shown in FIGS. 2 and 3A-D.

FIG. 4 depicts a method of automatically adjusting speaker volume of atelephone. At step 401, a telephone (e.g., telephone 100) receives userinput defining configuration of automatic volume control functionalityfor the telephone. In embodiments, the telephone displays a userinterface (UI) to a user, and receives input from the user via the UI,wherein the input defines configurable parameters associated with avolume control module (e.g., volume control module 110) of thetelephone.

At step 402, the telephone detects that a telephone conversation isoccurring. The telephone may use conventional processes to detect whenit is being employed to conduct a telephone conversation.

At step 403, the telephone receives data from a camera. In embodiments,the telephone receives at least one image from a camera (e.g., camera108). As described with respect to FIGS. 2 and 3A-3D, the camera may beintegrated with the telephone or separate from the telephone.

At step 404, the telephone analyzes the data from the camera (from step403). In embodiments, the volume control module of the telephone uses atleast one camera image to determine whether another person is within apredefined distance relative to the telephone, e.g., in the mannerdescribed with respect to FIG. 2. In additional embodiments, the volumecontrol module uses camera images to determine an annoyance level ofanother person, e.g., in the manner described with respect to FIG. 2.

At step 405, based on the analysis at step 404, the telephoneautomatically adjusts the volume of a speaker (e.g., speaker 106) of thetelephone. Step 405 may be performed in a manner similar to thatdescribed with respect to FIG. 2. In the event the user providedconfiguration input (e.g., at step 401), then the adjusting the volumeof the speaker at step 405 may be performed in accordance with theuser-defined configuration. For example, the phone may be configured toprovide an alert to the user (e.g., a display and/or vibration) prior toautomatically adjusting the volume of the speaker.

At step 406, the telephone receives location data from a locationsystem. In embodiments, the telephone includes a GPS sensor thatprovides location data to the volume control module. The location datamay define a GPS location of the telephone.

At step 407, the telephone analyzes the location data from step 406. Inembodiments, the volume control module of the telephone compares thelocation data to predefined quiet areas, e.g., in the manner describedwith respect to FIG. 2. Step 406 may include the telephone accessing thelist of quiet places in memory of the telephone, accessing anothercomputing device to obtain the list of quiet areas, or submitting thelocation data of the telephone to a service provider that returns anindication of whether the telephone location coincides with a predefinedquiet area.

At step 408, based on the analysis at step 407, the telephoneautomatically adjusts the volume of the speaker of the telephone. Step408 may be performed in a manner similar to step 405.

At step 409, the telephone receives audio signal data from a microphone(e.g., additional microphone 104). As described with respect to FIGS. 2and 3A-3D, the microphone may be integrated with the telephone orseparate from the telephone.

At step 410, the telephone analyzes the data from the microphone (fromstep 409). In embodiments, the volume control module uses the data fromthe microphone to compare the loudness of the speaker to the ambientloudness, e.g., in the manner described with respect to FIG. 2. Inadditional embodiments, the volume control module uses the data from themicrophone determine whether the telephone conversation includessensitive or confidential words, e.g., using NLP in the manner describedwith respect to FIG. 2.

At step 411, based on the analysis at step 410, the telephoneautomatically adjusts the volume of the speaker of the telephone. Step408 may be performed in a manner similar to step 405.

Each of steps 405, 408, and 411 may include an additional step ofcomparing a current volume level of the speaker to a minimum volumelevel. In the even the volume of the speaker is already at a minimumlevel, the volume control module may be programmed not automaticallyfurther reduce the volume of the speaker, since doing so might make theconversation imperceptible to the user.

In embodiments, a service provider, such as a Solution Integrator, couldoffer to perform the processes described herein. In this case, theservice provider can create, maintain, deploy, support, etc., thecomputer infrastructure that performs the process steps of the inventionfor one or more customers. These customers may be, for example, anybusiness that uses technology. In return, the service provider canreceive payment from the customer(s) under a subscription and/or feeagreement and/or the service provider can receive payment from the saleof advertising content to one or more third parties.

In still additional embodiments, the invention provides acomputer-implemented method for performing one or more of the processesdescribed herein. In this case, a computer infrastructure, such ascomputer system 12 (FIG. 1), can be provided and one or more systems forperforming the processes of the invention can be obtained (e.g.,created, purchased, used, modified, etc.) and deployed to the computerinfrastructure. To this extent, the deployment of a system can compriseone or more of: (1) installing program code on a computing device, suchas computer system 12 (as shown in FIG. 1), from a computer-readablemedium; (2) adding one or more computing devices to the computerinfrastructure; and (3) incorporating and/or modifying one or moreexisting systems of the computer infrastructure to enable the computerinfrastructure to perform the processes of the invention.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer program product for automaticallyadjusting telephonic conversation volume, the computer program productcomprising a computer readable storage medium having programinstructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable bya computing device to cause the computing device to: detect a telephoneis being used for a telephone conversation; obtain microphone data fromat least one microphone in communication with or incorporated in thetelephone; detect, using the microphone data, sensitive or confidentialsubject matter in the conversation using natural language processing;receive, via a user interface of the computing device, a user selectionto configure an alert notifying the user when it is determined to reducethe volume of a speaker of the telephone; automatically reduce thevolume of the speaker of the telephone based on the detecting thesensitive or confidential subject matter; obtain camera data from atleast one camera in communication with or incorporated in the telephone;determine, using images in the camera data, that another person'sdetected mood has changed from a first mood to a second mood indicatinga level of annoyance of the other person using facial recognitionprogramming to analyze the images; and automatically adjust the volumeof the speaker of the telephone based on the determined level ofannoyance of the other person.
 2. The computer program product of claim1, wherein the program instructions further cause the computing deviceto: determine, using the microphone data, a conversation loudnessexceeds ambient loudness by a predefined amount; and automaticallyadjust the volume of the speaker of the telephone based on thedetermining the conversation loudness exceeds the ambient loudness bythe predefined amount.
 3. The computer program product of claim 1,wherein the program instructions further cause the computing device topermit a user to selectively activate and deactivate automatic volumereduction for each one of plural factors independent of other ones ofthe plural factors.
 4. The computer program product of claim 3, whereinthe plural factors include: the sensitive or confidential subject matterbeing used in the conversation; another person being within a predefineddistance of the telephone; and a location of the telephone coincidingwith a predefined quiet area.
 5. The computer program product of claim3, wherein the plural factors include: a conversation loudness exceedingan ambient loudness by the predefined amount.
 6. The computer programproduct of claim 1, wherein the program instructions cause the computingdevice to automatically reduce the volume of the speaker by causing aprocessing unit of the telephone to reduce electrical power provided tothe speaker to lower the volume of the speaker.
 7. The computer programproduct of claim 1, wherein the program instructions cause the computingdevice to obtain the microphone data from a primary microphone of thetelephone and a secondary microphone that is separate from thetelephone.
 8. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein theprogram instructions cause the computing device to issue an alert whenthe volume is automatically adjusted.
 9. The computer program product ofclaim 1, wherein the detecting the sensitive or confidential subjectmatter in the conversation using natural language processing comprisesutilizing a volume control module to break down sentences of theconversation to derive a meaning of the sentences using the naturallanguage processing.
 10. The computer program product of claim 1,wherein the program instructions further cause the computing device todisplay the user interface on the telephone; wherein the telephonecomprises a memory, a display, and a processing unit running a volumecontrol module; wherein the at least one microphone comprises a primarymicrophone integrated with the telephone and an additional microphoneintegrated with the telephone; wherein the obtaining microphone datacomprises receiving microphone data from the additional microphone; andwherein the automatically reducing the volume of the speaker comprisesthe volume control module causing the processing unit to reduceelectrical power provided to the speaker to lower the volume of thespeaker.